


fears (of the vitric kind)

by Mistropolis



Category: Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters
Genre: Conversations, Don’t copy to another site, M/M, haru ur over-protectiveness is Showing, the boys just want each other to be happy... i die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 10:13:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18826591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistropolis/pseuds/Mistropolis
Summary: A conversation, about fears, about finding your loved ones in the ditch (of trying to be the helping hand they always need)





	fears (of the vitric kind)

**Author's Note:**

> based on a pretty old quote prompt from the appmon server: "am I supposed to be scared now?"
> 
> pretty much nothing exactly happens in this fic beside convos but... haru's potential over-protectiveness over yuujin after the ultimate 4 arc was sthg i've always wanted to explore in fics so here it is!!!
> 
> special thanks to my pal emil @asterions again w/o i will probably let myself be stuck w/o an ending ever lmao tysm!!!!

“Yuujin!”

The scream blazes a hot trail of panic through Yuujin’s chest, though when the sounds of footsteps have stopped behind him he has effortlessly patchworked a ready smile. “Oh, Haru?”

“Is it true that you went out today to the AR field?”

“Well, you know, Rei’s little brother is still—”

“I will level with you, Yuujin,” Haru’s head drops down as if some measure of tension has been released, though his face remains as stern as ever. “This isn’t the first time you’ve plunged into something you don’t know just to help others. Remember what happened the last time you did it? You—”

“Yes yes, I got kidnapped by a slightly off-hinged teenage CEO and his army of scary Ultimates because I have to protect the four of you. How can I possibly forget that?”

Haru holds up his tight fists at Yuujin, an almost genuinely infuriated pout on his face before he unclenches his fists and exhales. “Fine. I just can’t win an argument against you, can I?”

“You surely can, Haru. You are the more book-smart one between the two of us.” Yuujin’s smile blossoms brighter, cheekier at that. “However, seeing that essentially I am the one in the right here, you will not win this one.”

Haru lets out a more dramatic sigh, then sits down on a bench, staring up at the cedar ceiling, eyes wandering around the expanse of it.

Yuujin joins him. The quiet sounds of pages flipped and books being shelved accompany the spring-like atmosphere inside the book store, and everything in the afternoon light almost feels peaceful enough. Almost.

“Am I constantly acting, like, overprotective of you?”

Yuujin gazes over to where Offmon and Gatchmon are playing to the side, a rare brief respite between them where they don’t have to fight any corrupted Appmon or worry about anything. It’s not exactly like they already have no more time for that, but between the regular capturing Appmon business and fighting for their lives back then with the Ultimate Four, the very concept of leisure and time to breathe is simmering down to a vague shape.

“I don’t blame you for worrying so much, Haru. I did make quite a reckless move back then, however important that was.” Yuujin looks down to the ground, to the bookshelves, anywhere but Haru. “Still, I do hope you don’t take what happened back then as a sign that I don’t know how to take proper care of myself or make proper decisions. I’m not some burden you have to take care of.”

Haru frowns, his pout capsizing into a resigned, bitter smile. “I’ve never thought of you as a burden or anything remotely like that… but if what I have said make you feel that way, I’m very sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. Besides,” Yuujin snakes his arm around Haru’s shoulder, remarking at the fleeting blush that takes roots on Haru’s cheeks at the moment of contact. “I do like the feeling of being spoiled like that. Being treated like a baby sometime feels nice too.”

They share a few chuckles like that, taking in the rare peaceful alone time unique to them, belonging only to them.

“... You know. I still don’t really want you to step into the Appmon world.”

Yuujin’s smile hasn’t wavered. “Why?”

“It’s obvious. It’s too dangerous. We don’t know what kind of things Leviathan is capable of, and we don’t even yet know what it wants from us, from the world and the Appmons it is corrupting.” Haru crosses his arms, a crease in his brows. “At first, when we got to see how powerful Offmon and Shutmon are, I didn’t have much doubt that you can hold yourself well in any fight. But after the Ultimate Four…”

“You start to think that I, too, am just as vulnerable as the rest of you.”

“We are. Even when we are stronger now, I can’t stop thinking of all the things that can go wrong. Is that what it means to be a hero? Or is that something I shouldn’t do if I do want to be a protagonist—”

“Haru, being a brave protagonist doesn’t mean being fearless. You can’t hold yourself to an idealized standard like that.”

“I’m not doing that. But it’s hard not to do that, whenever I see you.”

The temperature of the book store seems to have gone up by a wide margin. “What, what do you mean?”

“I mean, look at you,” Haru gestures to Yuujin, a stymied, nonplussed expression across his face, with a note of genuine agitation. “You aren’t scared of much, of anything at all. You weren’t scared of that whole ‘are you willing to sacrifice yourself’ question, you aren’t scared when Shutmon was running berserk, and you weren’t scared when you were kidnapped. You told me not to hold myself to any high standard, but can you really expect me to do that when you… when you can…”

Haru’s voice gradually dies down, ending with an almost embarrassed look that he proceeds to cover up, a low-drawn groan exhaling. “Just… when I look at you, I feel like I’ve—”

“What you said just now are only partially true, Haru.”

“Huh?”

“You can’t see it, but I did question myself a lot after answering that question. I would like to believe I do have no fear in sacrificing for you…” Yuujin looks up and there Haru is again, a faint blush adorning his cheeks while his hands have gone haywire with each other.

“When I went off to save you from the Ultimate Four, I did get scared. I felt, I dunno, ridiculous that I would be scared now. I keep wondering, ‘am I supposed to be scared now, of all time when you need me the most?’ It was perhaps that thought that gives me the strength to go all the way through to find you back, to save you.

“So you see, I didn’t merely have the strength and courage to keep fighting because I have them the whole time, but because you are here, and I won’t ever stop fighting for you, okay?”

At that moment, for just a fraction of a heartbeat, the feeling of a key being finally fitted into its lock sings through the bookstore, a radiant warmth that cannot be felt by mere human contact and sunlight envelopes their surrounding.

“... And I won’t ever stop fighting for you, either.”

“Of course I know. You don’t ever need to tell me.” Yuujin stands up from the bench, extending a hand to Haru. “So, you wanna go somewhere else? Or just staying here is nice too, if that’s what you like.”

“Going anywhere with you is nice enough as it is. But let’s head outside.” Haru heads towards the exit in close strides, though not a few seconds pass before he turns around with another decidedly confounded downward drag of his lips. “And I want you to know this too, even though it feels a bit silly to think of now…”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been afraid of any possibility that any one of us will be used against us. Last time you were just kidnapped, but who knows what Leviathan might be capable of turning us against each other?” Haru lets out a flustered chortle before Yuujin could muster up anything in response. “But you know what? I don’t think I will be scared of stuff like that now. I shouldn’t ever doubt each other like that. Having faith in one another is enough.”

“You are right.” One breath exhaled in tamed exhilaration, for things he couldn’t say out loud yet— “No matter what happens to us, the two of us will always be the same.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm bad at dialogue tags.jpg lmao
> 
>  
> 
> ANYWAY hope u guys have enjoyed it and as usual kudos and comments are always appreciated!!


End file.
